Biology

It's actually a real animal, the biggest lizard in the world. From Indonesia, it's the top predator there, the encyclopedia entry is accurate.

Even the poisons bite is real. His teeth have special indentations that traps small chunks of food. The food rots and high concentrations of bacteria develops in his mouth. The victims die from the bacterial infection that ensures. Even the smell emanating from his mouth is terrible.

Encyclopedia entry

The people of Komodo call this animal "ora." Elsewhere it is known
as the Komodo Island monitor or more popularly, the Komodo dragon.
Oras can reach 10 feet in length and weigh 300 pounds or more --
particularly after a meal. They are the top predators in their
habitat, feeding on wild boar, deer, water buffalo, dogs, goats,
rats, snakes, birds, other oras, and -- once in a great while --
humans. They hunt by ambush, hiding in the scrub brush along trails
and in the tall grass of the savannas. Despite their lumbering
appearance, oras can move with alarming speed when they want to,
lunging from their hiding places and sprinting toward their
startled victims. They can't sustain a long chase, but often all
they need to subdue their prey is one bite. Oras carry poisonous
bacteria in their mouths so even if they don't immediately catch
their prey, the attack is often fatal. Using their long forked
tongues (oras and other monitor lizards are closely related to
snakes), they track the scent of their prey as the wounded animal
slowly weakens from the infected bite -- a process that can take
several days. When the victim can no longer flee, the ora moves
in for the kill. Oras are voracious eaters. They devour every bit
of their prey -- bones, fur, hooves -- ripping off huge chunks with
their razor-sharp serrated teeth and swallowing the pieces whole.